In the first half of the show, we kick off by having Jake give us an overview of his background and experience developing STEM programs throughout the national. He is now the executive director at SASTEMIC helping promote and advocate STEM education within Title 1 schools in downtown and South San Antonio. The primary program of SASTEMIC is the Geek Bus, which started in 2014 to begin their educational services. What is the Geek Bus and why is it different? It’s a mobile education unit that travels to schools where the students can see actual equipment being used in the STEM field. The bus can take 30 students at a time, since its hands on interactive learning exposing kids to potential career opportunities. As of June 12, 2017, the Geek Bus has served over 13,000 students!

In the second half of the show, Jake and I dive into the actual workshops that are taught via the traveling Geek Bus when it goes on-site to different schools. Students can learn about various STEM related focus areas including robotics, video game design, 3D printing, sustainability and coding basics. The instructors also give the students an overview of STEM career tracks, potential salary that students can make after graduation and more. SASTEMIC is also working hard on engaging females to get interested and involved in STEM and to stay focused in school to excel at math, science and engineering. It’s important to help change the gender stereotypes in the STEM world. SASTEMIC is in the process of getting a new bus and hope to expand the program. Learn more about SASTEMIC and how you can help promote the organization, watch the full episode replay here!